'Something that is very important' - Holcim-PRB skipper Kevin Escoffier on helping troubled rivals during The Ocean Race

Holcim-PRB skipper Kevin Escoffier has spoken about camaraderie between rival sailors and sportsmanship in The Ocean Race, revealing that they even help each other out despite being in direct competition. Escoffier’s team currently lead the third leg of this year’s race but the journey from Cape Town to Itajai in Brazil has not been without drama on the water.

Ad At the start of the leg, the teams Biotherm and 11th Hour Racing Team both needed to suspend racing due to issues with their respective boats before re-joining the race. The Ocean RaceMalizia skipper Hermann admits he feared broken mast may have forced crew back to Cape Town5 HOURS AGO GUYOT environnment-Team Europe then had to withdraw from the leg completely after discovering issues with their hull, while Team Malizia managed to complete a dramatic repair of their mast while at sea.

Despite watching the competition struggle, Escoffier told the media that he was pleased to see Malizia, skippered by Boris Herrmann, overcome their issues. “No, no, I'm definitely not surprised,” said Escoffier discussing the successful mast repair.

“They also had to change due to the weather forecast to do this repair without losing a lot due to the current. So no, I'm not surprised about that.